Over the years, there have been a vast number of different entertainment sources generally in the form of games and puzzles. It is particularly noteworthy that jigsaw puzzles have had significant popularity which has spanned generations. Typically, a jigsaw puzzle will include a plurality of two-dimensional puzzle pieces, each having a different and unique portion of an overall image.
As is well known, the puzzle pieces are loosely accumulated in a random order. The puzzle is "solved" by correctly assembling the pieces in expanding, interlocked relation until the entirety of the puzzle has been assembled. As the puzzle is assembled, the image becomes more complete until the entire image fully appears.
More recently, there have developed a number of different types of three-dimensional jigsaw puzzles. These are typically designed to be self-standing structures which have a plurality of walls, each of which essentially comprises a two-dimensional puzzle in and of itself. Further, the three-dimensional jigsaw puzzles often are provided with a two-dimensional puzzle base.
With this form of puzzle, the walls which form the structure must be joined in some effective manner. This is particularly true where the three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle is adapted to be assembled into a building-like structure wherein the walls are to be joined at the corners thereof. In the past, this has simply not been accomplished in a manner that gives a finished appearance.
In this connection, the corners of three-dimensional jigsaw puzzles have had an interrupted image-bearing outer surface. This has diminished enjoyment inasmuch as the aesthetics of the fully-assembled puzzle have lacked the realism of an actual building-like structure. To overcome this problem, Roy U.S. Pat. No. 4,824,112 proposed the utilization of corner pieces that utilize a shoulder-cut rabbet joint.
With this arrangement, the backing material of each corner piece is cut out to permit adhesive joining in a substantially right-angle arrangement. This does achieve the objective of a continuous image-bearing outer surface at the corners, but there are several notable deficiencies. In particular, it is well recognized that there are both structural and aesthetic problems with the corners which have been proposed in Roy U.S. Pat. No. 4,824,112.
More specifically, the corner pieces have a weakness where the backing material has been cut all the way through to the laminated image-bearing outer sheet. This can be particularly critical where, after a considerable amount of play, the adhesive fails, and the corner piece is no longer retained as a substantially right-angle piece. Furthermore, even when the adhesive is performing its intended function, the right-angle corner pieces are less than desirable from an aesthetic viewpoint.
In this regard, the three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle would provide greater enjoyment in the event all of the pieces were initially in a single plane. Thus, it would be highly desirable to have not only the wall pieces but also the corner pieces such that, when the pieces are loosely gathered, they have the initial appearance, at least from viewing the image-bearing outer surface, of all being wall pieces. Thereafter, when properly identified, the corner pieces could be formed by the participants in solving the puzzle into a substantially right angle.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the foregoing problems and achieving one or more of the resulting objects.